Combined heel plate and brace for shoes



Nqv. 18, 1952 I s. s. HOGEBOOM COMBINED HEEL PLATE AND BRACE FOR SHOES Filed Oct. 9, 1951 0 33 2 4o 4 R Y 0 %Q5 2 MP6 F). Q 10 3 1/ Q2 m -L 00. T. .22 m

2 1o 2 Li A Am. 2 e 2 3 4 4 o 2 i 2 INVENTOR SIDNEY S. HocsEBooM BY 72: mmaz pmm vxfim zdam ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 18, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COMBINED HEEL PLATE AND BRACE FOR SHOES Claims.

This invention relates to attachments for ladies shoes, and more particularly, has reference to a combined heel plate and brace, applicable to a complete ladys shoe for the purpose of reinforcing the shoe and enhancing its wearing qualities.

The tendency of the heel of a ladys shoe to break off or become loosened is well known to the wearers of such shoes. Especially does this tendency assert itself when the heel is of high, thin formation.

It is further well appreciated by the wearers of the shoes that the lift commonly provided at the lower end of the heel tends to wear with undesirable rapidity, in many instances.

Heretofore, efforts have been made to provide heel braces and heel plates, and I am aware, in this connection, of combination reinforcing braces and heel plates which have heretofore been devised. However, to my knowledge none of these has proved to be commercially feasible, and I believe that this may be due to the fact that those devices heretofore conceived for this purpose have generally been of rigid construction, requiring that they be made in specific sizes and shapes to fit specific ladies shoes. Obviously, the number of sizes and the variations in design in the field of manufacture of ladies shoes make it impracticable to provide the large number of expensive dies which would be required for making the combined braces and heel plates.

It is, accordingly, the main object of the present invention to provide a device falling within the category referred to which will be adjustable, the feature of adjustability being incorporated in the construction in such a way as to permit my combined reinforcing brace and heel plate to be applied to any of a substantial number of ladies shoes varying widely as to size and design. By forming the reinforcing brace and heel plate in this manner, I propose to reduce substantially the cost of manufacture of the devices, thus to make the devices commercially feasible.

A further important object is to provide a com.- bined reinforcing brace and heel plate construction wherein the several parts of the device are separable, thus to permit individual parts to be used without the concurrent use of the other parts. In this way, it is proposed to provide a heel plate which normally is a portion of the overall device, but which may nevertheless be used separately, to be applied to the lower portion of a heel in protective relation to the lift of the heel, thus to prevent wear of said lift. Similarly, it is proposed to incorporate in the construction a brace member which can be used, if desired,

separately from the heel plate member, .for the purpose of reinforcing the connection between the heel and the sole of the shoe.

By forming the device in the manner referred to above, it is intended to reduce still further the cost of the dies which would normally be required, since the same dies can be used in the production of heel plates, heel braces, and combination heel braces and plates.

A further important object is to provide a ladys shoe attachment formed in such a manner as to accomplish with desired efliciency the results discussed above, but which will at the same time be capable of manufacture at relatively low cost, will be substantially invisible when worn, and which will be attachable to a ladys shoe with, considerable ease and speed.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claims appended thereto, and from the annexed drawing, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a ladys shoe and of a, shoe attachment formed in accordance with the present invention, the attachment being illustrated as it appears when in use;

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially on line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on line 3-3 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of the device constituting the present invention, disassociated from the shoe.

Referring to the drawings in detail, a heel It is illustrated, that is a part of a ladys shoe including the sole [2 having the forwardly declining sole shank portion l4. Secured to and extending upwardly from the sole I2 are side straps l6, and secured to the lower end of the heel I fl is a lift [8.

All this is conventional construction in a ladys shoe, and does not per se constitute part of the present invention. Rather, the construction il lustrated and discussed above is intended to be representative of any one of a substantial number of ladies shoes varying in size and design to which the device illustrated in the drawings may be applied.

The combined reinforcing heel plate and brace constituting the present inventionis intended as an attachment readily applicable to a completed ladys shoe, so that the attachment can be applied to a shoe at the option of a wearer, rather than incorporated in the shoe during the manufacture thereof. To this end, the device includes three main parts illustrated separately from one another in Figure 4. These parts comprise a reinforcing brace member generally designated 20, a connecting member designated generally by the reference numeral 22, and a heel plate member 24.

Considering first the brace member 2|], this is formed from a single piece of metal material including a forwardly declining leg 26 shaped conformably to the sole shank portion l4, so as to be adapted to underlie said sole shank portion in intimate contact therewith,

The leg 26 of the brace 20 is integral with a vertical leg 30, that extends downwardly in contact with the fiat, vertical front face of the heel Ill. The leg 30 (see Figure 4) may be of tapered formation at its lower or free end, and preferably, is formed to a width substantially less than the width of the heel at the upper end of the heel, so as to be substantially invisible when the shoe is being worn.

With further reference to the leg 39 of the brace member, the heel-contacting face thereof is formed with a vertical, shallow recess 32, opening upon the free end of the leg and having straight, parallel side walls.

Formed in the leg 39, and spaced longitudinally of the recess 32, are apertures 34 of countersunk formation (see Figure 3), said apertures 34 extending transversely through the material of which the leg 30 is formed, and communicating between the outer face of the leg and the floor of the recess 32.

Formed in the forwardly declining leg 26, contiguous to the opposite side edges thereof, are longitudinal rows of apertures 28, the apertures 28 being adapted to receive nails or other fastening elements, not shown, whereby the leg 26 can be fixedly secured to the under side of the sole shank portion [4.

The connecting element 22 is of elongated, straight formation, and includes a body 36 corresponding in thickness to the thickness of the leg 30, the body 36 being formed at its upper end with a cutaway portion defining a longitudinal tongue 38 the thickness of which is half that of the main portion of the body36. The tongue 38, as may be particularly noted from Figure 4, is provided with a longitudinal series of openings 46 disposed medially between the opposite side edges of the tongue, said openings 48 being registerable with the openings 32 of the brace member 20, on insertion of the tongue 38 in the recess 32. Obviously, the tongue 38 can be extended into the recess 32 to any extent desired, so as to register selected openings 34 with selected openings 49. In this way, the connecting element 22 is adjustable longitudinally of the vertical leg 30 of the reinforcing brace member, adapting the device to different heel sizes and heights.

At its lower end, the body 36 is formed witha cutaway portion defining a short, longitudinally extended tongue 12 also formed to a thickness half that of the main portion of the body. A single opening 44 is formed in the tongue.

The tongue 12 is extendable into a recess 46 formed in the rear surface of the heel plate member 24, at the upper end of said member. The recess 46 has an opening 48 registering with the opening 44 when the tongue 42 is extended fully into said recess 46.

Immediately below the upper end of the heel plate 24, said heel plate is integrally formed 4 with downwardly diverging legs 50, which at their lower end merge into a U-shaped lift supporting member 52 having a series of openings 54 extended longitudinally thereof. The lift supporting member 52, as may be noted from Figure 3, is disposed at right angles to the upwardly extended legs 50.

' In use of the device, the reinforcing brace member 20 is applied to the underside of the sole shank portion [4, and is rigidly secured thereto in the manner referred to hereinabove. Thereafter,

the connecting element 22 is extended into the recess 32 and a nail or similar fastening element 56 is inserted through the registering apertures 34, '40.

It will be understood that the tongue 38 is extended into the recess 32 only to that extent considered necessary to adapt the device to a particular heel height.

The heel plate member 24 is then applied to the lower end of the connecting element 22, a nail or other fastening element 56 being extended through the registering openings 44, 48. Thereafter, nails or the like are driven through the openings 54 into the bottom surface of the lift I8.

As a result, the heel It! is effectively braced against any tendency thereof to break away from or become loosened relative to the sole [2 of the shoe. Further, the lift I8 is effectively protected against wear by the lift supporting member 52.

It will be understood that formation of the device in the manner illustrated in the drawings and described hereinbefore is such as to adapt the invention for attachment to ladies shoes varying widely as to the size and the particular design thereof. In this way, I propose to reduce substantially the cost of dies required in forming the component parts of the device.

It is further considered to be an important characteristic of the invention that the heel plate 24 can be used separately from the connecting element 22 and reinforcing brace 20, on occasions when, for example, the user does not desire to brace the heel but nevertheless desires to prevent wear of the lift 18.

Still further, it is believed worthy of note that the reinforcing brace 20 also is capable of being attached to a complete ladys shoe without the concurrent use of the connecting element 22 and of the heel plate member 24. All this, of course, tends to reduce to a marked degree the overall expense of manufacture, considering the benefits to be obtained by use of a construction formed as illustrated and described.

It is believed clear that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles of operation and the means presently devised to carry out said principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor changes in construction that may be permitted within-the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is 1. In a combined reinforcing brace and heel plate, an angular brace member conformed to the shape of contiguous portions of the sole and heel of a ladys shoe so as to engage snugly thereagainst and brace the same, said brace member being adapted for fixed connection to said sole; an angular heel plate member shaped to overlie the bottom surface of said heel and that portion of the inner surface of the heel contiguous to said bottom surface; a connecting element extending between said brace member and heel plate member and having its opposite ends lapping and adjustable longitudinally of the respective members to space the members apart selected distances; and means extending through the lapped portions of the members and connecting element and adapted to be engaged within said heel, said means rigidly connecting the members and connecting element to one another and to said heel.

2. In a combined reinforcing brace and heel plate, a brace member conformed to the shape of contiguous portions of the sole and heel of a ladys shoe and comprising angularly related, rigidly connected legs, one of which is proportioned to overlie and be fixedly connected to said sole, and the other of which overlies the inner surface of said heel; an angular heel plate member shaped to overlie the bottom surface of said heel and that portion of the inner surface of the heel contiguous to said bottom surface; a connecting element extending between the secondnamed leg of said brace member and the heel plate member, said element having its opposite ends lapping and adjustable longitudinally of the leg and heel plate member to space the respective members apart selected distances; and means extending through the lapped portions of the members and connecting element and adapted to be engaged within said heel, said means rigidly connecting the members and connecting element to one another and to said heel.

3. In a combined reinforcing brace and heel plate, a brace member conformed to the shape of contiguous portions of the sole and heel of a ladys shoe and comprising angularly related, rigidly connected legs one of which is proportioned to overlie and be fixedly connected to said sole, and the other of which overlies the inner surface of said heel; a heel plate member comprising angularly related, rigidly connected legs one of which is shaped to overlie the bottom surface of said heel, and the other of which overlies that portion of the inner surface of the heel contiguous to said bottom surface; a connecting element extending between the second-named legs of the respective members, said element having its opposite ends lapping and adjustable longitudinally of said second-named legs to space the respective members apart selected distances; and means extending through the lapped portions of the second-named legs and connecting element and adapted to be engaged within said heel, said means rigidly connecting the members and connecting element to one another and to said heel.

4. In a combined reinforcing brace and heel plate, a brace member conformed to the shape of contiguous portions of the sole and heel of a ladys shoe and comprising angularly related, rigidly connected legs one of which is proportioned to overlie and be fixedly connected to said sole, and the other of which overlies the inner surface of said heel; a heel plate member comprising angularly related, rigidly connected legs one of which is shaped to overlie the bottom surface of said heel, and the other of which overlies that portion of the inner surface of the heel contiguous to said bottom surface, said secondnamed legs of the members being disposed in a common plane; a connecting element extending between and coplanar with the second-named legs of the respective members, said element having its opposite ends lapping and adjustable longitudinally of the second-named legs to space the respective members apart selected distances; and means extending through the lapped portions of the second-named legs and connecting element and adapted to be engaged within said heel, said means rigidly connecting the members and connecting element to one another and to said heel.

5. In a combined reinforcing brace and heel plate, a brace member conformed to the shape of contiguous portions of the sole and heel of a ladys shoe and comprising angularly related, rigidly connected legs one of which is proportioned to overlie and be fixedly connected to said sole, and the other of which overlies the inner surface of said heel; a heel plate member comprising angularly related, rigidly connected legs one of which is shaped to overlie the bottom surface of said heel, and the other of which overlies that portion of the inner surface of the heel contiguous to said bottom surface, said second named legs of the members being disposed in a common plane and having recesses formed therein aligned longitudinally of said heel; a connecting element extending between and coplanar with the second-named legs of the respective members, said element having tongues at its opposite ends telescoping adjustably within said recesses to space the respective members apart selected distances; and means extending through the lapped portions of the second-named legs and connectin element and adapted to be engaged within said heel, said means rigidly connecting the members and connecting element to one another and to said heel.

SIDNEY S. HOGEBOOM.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 299,045 Wilson May 20, 1884 372,561 Paris Nov. 1, 1887 1,325,845 Harris Dec. 23, 1919 1,878,612 Weinstein Sept. 20, 1932 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 1277/31 Australia Dec. 3, 1931 623,763 France June 30, 1927 

